As aspiring scientists, graduate school is our training arena. While learning the key scientific principles of our field and applying them to new and exciting research, we often find the need to hone our skills. One of the most important skills a scientist can have is to communicate with non-scientists. Why is this so important? […]

Kelps Love Warm Water and CO2 Having grown up in the Monterey bay area, I was never very far from the ocean. I remember spending countless hours at the aquarium or along the tide pools and I think it’s safe to say my love of nature grew out of that. I attended SDSU as an […]

Scary predators stress small fish Stress is a part of everyday life, even for animals. Everyone has experienced how stress can affect our mood, appetite, and interactions with others. Animals have similar reactions when stressed and experience many stressful events ranging from extreme temperature to antagonistic encounters with other animals. Stressful disturbances may cause […]

Check out this video about the Coastal and Marine Institute and our connections with the world around us. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElQZ3ncRkuQ Directed by Kevin Shanmugam and Daniel Galuppo Script by Alex Warneke Produced by the Marine Ecology and Biology Student Association

Nursery habitat for juvenile halibut Being a tiny fish isn’t easy! Throughout the course of their lives, many fishes move from the open ocean to coastal nursery habitats, and then back to deep off-shore areas. All that traveling leaves them vulnerable to lots of predators and variable food resources. Fish mortality is especially high […]

Many marine predators are dependent on their sense of smell to find their food. However, this can prove to be quite challenging if the animals they are preying upon are particularly good at hiding their stench. Prey do not want to be found and eaten and go to great lengths to hide their smell. […]

You’ve probably heard the story about pesticides and how bad they are for the environment, but have you ever really thought about who they hurt and how? Pesticides don’t just kill those pesky little critters in your bed; they are applied to almost every type of crop and object you can think of and many […]